Busy Monday: CHA 2012 Show Photos

This was my second year at the Craft and Hobby convention. Last year it was in LA, CA. and this year they returned back to Anaheim, CA. It was quite a show.

I have said this to many people, and I'll say it here: If you are an artist or crafter and want to make a living doing what you love to do, then you need to attend the CHA show! No kidding! Ask me all the questions you want!

OK - so I know you just want to see all the photos that I have been formatting and uploading all day right?! (in between this and that and the other thing!) Well - here goes!

I'll start with the best news of all...I won the Designer Press Kit award. It's a really big deal, and I'm extremely grateful to have won! There are so many other talented designers out there, so I wasn't sure if all my hard work would pay off. But it did. Thank you to all the judges! (The Gnome girl was not included and not there. But it was her backpack and the contents that won them over....I guess!

Here I am before accepting my award, with Sarah Conrad-Ferm of November Oak (my associate for the show and my best friend since 3rd Grade! - yep - not many people can say that! She rocks!) and the after with my award in hand. Still doesn't feel real! It's just so exciting!

Here are some pictures of my travels to get to Anaheim and then once I was there. It's just so beautiful, I couldn't help but photograph the area! The colors are so amazing and inspiring!

I was one of many CHA Designer Members that took part in a Designer Display of Ornaments to benefit many charities (mine was for the Portable Playhouse), as well as participating in the awesome Flash Mob, all thanks to Charity Wings! If you don't know much about Charity Wings, please check them out!

(the flash mob Charity Wings pics are missing from my list...I'll add them in the morning - sorry)

Then of course there were all the beautiful things in the booths! And trust me folks - there was no shortage of spectacular this year - I just wasn't allowed to capture it all. Nor did I have that much time to capture it all!

The always lovely Anna Griffin (which by the way - have you entered the Anna Griffin Sewing Patterns and Fabric giveaway yet? it ends on Wed night! HURRY!). I love that I get to go into her booth and get big hugs from her. She really is just the sweetest person. I love working with her! Then I found a fun friend roaming around, the Cricut himself! I knew my girls would get a kick out of him! And all the little baby cricuts too...they are coming to get me! I tried to get one...or two - but they wouldn't give them to me so early in the show. I might have to call them now to get one!

 And then of course the really awesome - oh so exciting T-Shirt Remix Contest I was privileged to be a part of!...And yes - I was a total dork and rocked out with the "air guitar" Westcott Scissors! Those things are awesome and I'm still waiting for them to mail them to me. From what I understand though...I'd have to ship them back after a certain amount of time. To the which I could not agree on!

And last but not least....the giveaway. We get so much stuff at shows. I have so many bags, I don't know what to do with them all. I usually give them to my mom and sister, but they have tons now too! So I'm doing a little giveaway of my CHA 2012 swag! The bags are awesome - the Make and Takes book is sweet! (my girls are much older than these projects - but it's really awesome for younger kids!!!) The Sizzix cards are actually a different project on each card! Fun tags and pins, a mouse pad, and scissor holster that I made in the Westcott booth! Have at it!

As I was going through all my photos, I thought I wasn't going to have that many...and last year I did one post for each day. So maybe I has less than last year? I don't know...but for as many as I have shared here...I hope you enjoyed it! And next year, I hope you'll attend too! Thanks for stopping by and again don't forget to enter for your chance to win the swag...and enter the Anna Griffin Sewing Patterns and Fabric giveaway!

UPDATED 2/16: This Giveaway is closed. The Winner was selected using Random.org and is #2 (LensCap). Congrats!!!

Details of the Giveaway:
This giveaway will be open to US, Canadian, and European residents. (I'm not charging for the shipping fees - so I can't go crazy on that cost - sorry)
This Giveaway will be open from today, Monday February 6, 2012 10:00pm EST until Saturday Feb 11, 2012 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email on the following Monday. You will have 24 hours to respond with the info so I can ship out your prize, or a new winner will be chosen.

If you win:
The winner will have to supply me (in a personal email after you have been notified as the winner) with your Full Name, Mailing Address, Phone Number & Email Address.


To Enter:
If you want a chance to win - you MUST leave A comment below (WITH your email address. Please understand that I really don't have time to go hunting for a way to contact you) If you forget and leave another comment with only your email address, in the hopes that will count as two -  only your first comment will count).


For additional chances to win:

• You can tweet about it with a link - you must include my twitter handle "@kidgiddy" (leave a comment here so it counts that you did)
• You can visit my Kid Giddy Pinterest page and re-pin anyone of my Kid Giddy Designs Pins. Only the Kid Giddy Design Pins will be counted. (leave a comment here for it to count)

One last thing before you go...be sure to check out all of the other Designer Crafts Connection blog hop members to see more eye candy from the 2012 CHA Winter show! Good night!

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Seller Saturday: HappyCreations4U

Hey everyone....Phoebe from HappyCreations4U got her power back on...so today she's my happiest Seller Saturday! She's happy all the time - she's just one of the sweetest Etsiers I know!

1. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I would be blue, no wait...green. Hmmm I can never decide if my favorite color is blue or green (and all shades in between) so I choose both!! They are the colors of the sky, the sea, the trees and grass. I just love them, and I love them together even more!

2. Do you have a special talent? I guess being an artist is my best talent. I am also very passionate about karate but I don't know if I can call it one of my talents. (kid giddy says she can - you should see her in action! *sings* "awesome"!!!)


3. Which season do you love the most? I love Summer! I just love summer because the days are longer and warm. I love being able to just put on a T-shirt and shorts and my flip flops and just go! I love the beach and the outdoors. During the summer you can just spend the day outside!

4. What made you want to open up your Etsy shop? I did my first craft fair over the holidays and it went pretty well. I had several people ask me at the show if I had an Etsy shop. I had been previously thinking about opening one, but that really set the wheels in motion for me. I just think it is so neat that Etsy is global.
I have only had a few sales but one of the most exciting was a custom order for a woman in Portugal. Now that was cool! I love seeing where people are from and think "wow my little creations are traveling to different parts of our world!" I also opened my shop because I really want to make things that make people happy. My items are small but my hope is that they will brighten someones day and make them smile.

5. What is your favorite item in your shop today? I think my favorite item(s) are my dragons, the little blue dragon in particular. I really love dragons!

Thanks so much Phoebe for sharing your happiness. See you in karate soon - can't wait to order myself some pandas for the girls....didn't see those last time!!!

If you would like to be considered for a future Seller Saturday post please check out this thread on the Etsy forums for more information. Have a great Saturday/weekend everyone! Thanks! kg

Please remember all images are copyright and owned by their respective artists. Please do not copy!